A Patchwork Rose
by DMenace
Summary: A collection of stories following huntress extraordinaire Summer Rose who went from slayer of monsters to Super-Mom over night. See how her journey unfolded from the nightmarish days in Vacuo to sharing a room with three quirky friends at the most prestigious school on Remnant, to finally baking cookies for her daughters in the happiest days of her sorrow-filled life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hanging up the Combat Skirt

* * *

The front door creaked open and a young woman wearing a soaking wet white cloak stepped into the warm darkness with a slight limp. Her only source of light came from the flashes of lightning through the windows, and each crack of thunder was followed by quiet whimpers and her body tensing up.

She collapsed atop the couch the moment she collided with it and kicked off the muddy boots that had tormented her every step home. With an unsteady hand she reached into her ammo belt and retrieved a silver flask with the words _'To Summer Rose'_ engraved on the front with _'Liquid courage for my good luck charm'_ underneath _._ She rolled over propping herself up with an elbow and uncapped the tiny bottle with her teeth. Bringing it to her lips however she found herself disappointed by it already being empty.

Lightning streaked across the night sky and was immediately followed by a loud rumble. She shut her eyes tightly taking deep breaths, and cautiously one at a time reopened them and allowed them to adjust to the darkness. Summer was just making out the two shadowy shapes sitting on the coffee table in front of her when the entire room lit up. She cried out and quickly wrapped her arms around the sides of her head. Finally when she and the cottage had stopped shaking, she looked through blurry eyes at the most comforting sight she had ever seen.

Milk and cookies...

Her mouth watered and she reached out with renewed vigor finding the glass still cold and removed the plastic wrap from the top before bringing it to her lips and tilting her head back.

 _*cough, cough*_

Once her violent fit concluded she began shoveling chocolate chip cookies into her mouth seemingly seeing how many she could fit at once, only pausing occasionally to wash them down. When the glass was empty and the plate had all but been licked clean she leaned back and laid a hand atop her bloated stomach. Her blouse was soaking wet just like the rest of her, but she knew it hadn't been caused by the torrential downpour outside. Cautiously she reached through the tears of the black garment and felt the reminders of the Beowolf that had nearly succeeded in disemboweling her.

She leaned back trying not to dwell on the day's events knowing full well the nightmares would replay soon enough and likely would for the rest of the week.

 _'Never again,'_ she thought, rolling her tongue over the chocolate stuck in between her teeth. She wasn't the huntress she had been just a few short years ago, and a favor to a friend had nearly cost her daughters their mother, and no amount of lien in her pockets or happy villagers were worth leaving them. She couldn't put Yang through that again...

Still though, Summer smiled at the unlit tree in the corner with piles of wrapped boxes briefly lit up from a flash outside, and she barely even flinched when the glass on the table rattled. Even by her standards she had outdone herself with Christmas this year, but every time she thought the final gift had just been wrapped, she'd find something spectacular that she believe her girls simply couldn't live without.

The monthly residuals from her unfinished huntress tour and the allowance she'd withdrawn from her savings since October hadn't been nearly enough to cover all the expenses of the best day of the year, and so when Barty pleaded for help with a job and told her the reward, she had reluctantly dusted off her retired combat skirt and gone with him.

Her girls' faces when they opened their new dollhouses, video game consoles, bicycles, and whatever else she could find were going to be well-worth the price she paid tonight. But she still needed to find that _extra_ special present for Yang...

Tai had given her Raven's legacy condolence for that month so the girl's birth mother could buy her something special, but what that was she still wasn't sure.

A sudden crack of thunder she hadn't been expecting caused her to let out a miserable moan. Her self-proclaimed big sister loved Christmas, and had always held her close during thunderstorms...

"Mom?" asked a sleepy voice entering from the bedroom.

Summer quickly wrapped the cloak around herself and dried her eyes. "It's me, sweetie. How was your day with-"

A blur wearing red pajamas raced across the room faster than her eyes could follow and collided with her chest knocking the wind out of her. Despite the sharp pain and gasps for breath however she quickly began struggling to keep her laughter contained.

"You came back," the young girl said simply, wrapping her tiny arms around her mother's neck.

"Of course I did, Ruby." She kissed her atop the head. "Mommies always keep their pinky promises."

After a couple more sniffles bright silver eyes looked up into her own. "Okay-so-how-was-it? What-kind-of-Grimm-were-they? How-many-were-there-and-how-many-did-you-kill? Did-you-summon-Dad's-gauntlets-or-Uncle-Qrow's-scythe? Did-you-"

She was interrupted by her mother bursting into laughter unsure if it was the girl's semblance talking or if it was just the motor mouth that she'd inherited.

"They were fully grown Beowolves with a few Ursa Majors and Deathstalkers mixed in to keep things interesting for Mommy. I didn't count how many but I'd imagine about as much chocolate you ate while I was gone." Ruby blushed under her gaze and attempted to appear as innocent as all possible. "And I used your uncle's scythe because it's the deadliest weapon on Remnant, and because there's nobody I trust more with my life."

The young girl giggled but let out a small sniffle at the end. "Promise you'll always come back?"

"Sweetie, that's the _last_ job I ever go on."

"Pinky promise you'll always come back?"

She hesitated before interlinking their fingers and pressing their foreheads together. "Who else is gonna tuck you in at night, make sure there aren't any monsters under your bed, and bake you chocolate chip cookies?"

There were a couple more quiet sniffles but their attention was quickly drawn to the soft glow reminiscent of sunlight that was now standing beside the unlit Christmas tree.

"You're back..."

Summer adjusted Ruby in her lap and smiled at the blond girl with pigtails just a few years older than her sister. "Thank you for the cookies and milk, Yang, and for keeping Ruby from eating _all_ of them."

Yang didn't respond. She merely watched the pair with an impassive look on her face.

"Dear, where's your father?"

"He left..."

Summer sat up straighter and had a look of horror. "He what!?"

Ruby tugged on her cloak as if to calm her. "Don't be mad, Mommy. Daddy got a call from work and had to leave. He said you'd be home before bedtime."

"He left you girls _alone_ during a thunderstorm!?"

"We weren't scared," Yang scoffed. Ruby was a bit more hesitant but eventually scrunched up her face to look tough and nodded in agreement with her big sister.

Summer's face softened. "O-of course you weren't. You two haven't been alone by yourself all day have you?"

When Yang didn't say anything Ruby saw it as her opportunity. "Amber was visiting her grandparents so we played over at their house, and Mrs. Aurelia walked us home with an umbrella. She offered to stay until you got home but-"

"-but I told her I'm not a kid anymore."

Summer grinned at the seven-year-old standing off to herself. "Of course you're not. Could you plug the tree in, sweetie?"

"Do it yourself..."

"Please?"

She stared at the woman with cheeks puffed out but bent down and a moment later the room lit up in brilliant colors.

"Thank you, Yang."

The girl's lip twitched seeing her little sister smile ear to ear, and she waded through the presents over to the fireplace. There she placed a log wrapped in paper atop an iron grill, and a spark traveling from her golden pigtails to her fingertips set it ablaze and caused the shadows to dance around the room.

"Pretty," Ruby marveled at her.

A smile momentarily crept up Yang's face but the moment she noticed her stepmother watching it faded. Summer recognized the look all too well as the girl's mother had the same exact look whenever she had been worried rather than necessarily upset, and reached out inviting her to join them.

Rolling her eyes but with her pride fully intact and the knowledge this wasn't by choice, like her sister Yang made a running leap over the coffee table and came crashing down on top of them. Summer let out a yelp as the air once again rushed out of her lungs and someone's knee scraped across her stomach, but her arms quickly wrapped around the girls as they toppled over together.

The sisters elbowed each other fighting for the best position and Summer giggled in delight while trying to get them to settle down. One of them tried diving underneath the cloak but her hand reflexively shot down grabbing their wrist.

"Y-you're not hurt are you, mommy?" Ruby asked suddenly worried.

Summer quickly shook her head. "No, honey," she lied. "Mommy just got her clothes muddy is all."

The soft glow around the older girl hadn't yet dimmed, and Summer saw she became more careful where she placed her hands and shifted her weight. Her sister seemed to sense it as her lip quivered and she began doing the same.

Summer pulled them back down on her and flared what little aura she had left. Both girls let out pleasurable sighs as the smell of roses tickled their noses, and the girl with pigtails flared her's as well warming the woman from the inside out. Her little sister attempted to do the same but just a couple of rose petals fluttered about.

The woman realized she must've missed the flash of light too late as thunder cracked over their heads sounding as though it had emanated from inside the tiny cottage itself. She clutched them tightly just as they did her.

"Don't be scared girls," she soothed. "M-mommy's here..."

She gave the older girl a kiss on the forehead and maneuvered the mostly dry cloak over to act as a makeshift blanket.

"I promise you, girls, that's the last time I'm ever leaving you..."

 _'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you._ _Please don't take my sunshine away...'_

The elder girl let out a sniffle as Ruby continued humming, and Summer reached down and wiped her cheek.

"I promise, Yang..."

* * *

 **(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. This story was inspired by r/RWBY's "Writing Prompt Wednesday", specifically the prompt _"_** _ **Summer returns from her last mission. She's been...changed by the experience she went through".**_ **Obviously I went in a bit of a different direction and made it fit the narrative of "The Petals Scatter Now" and "The Patchwork Prodigy", but whether this or any other one shot of story fits with their narrative is entirely up to you. Neither are or will be necessary for understanding the other, but it'll give you an understanding of how I view Summer, her relationships with others, and perhaps a few characters I haven't shown yet in my other stories.**

 ** _"A Patchwork Rose"_ ****will be a collection of random one shots following Summer during the happiest time of her life, as well as some of the not-so-happiest times of her life. I have a few chapters planned at the moment but this story will serve as a fun, occasionally heart-wrenching distraction for myself and I hope you enjoy.**

 **RWBY as well as the cover image of Summer Rose is owned by Rooster Teeth.**

 **All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and all of you. God bless, and Merry Christmas)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The First Day of Summer

* * *

The wails of sorrow and pitiful sobs echoed throughout the tiny cottage, needlessly reminding the young teenage girl curled up on a worn leather recliner just how truly empty it was. For days she had imagined her grandmother's singsong voice coming from the kitchen as she baked her cookies, as well as the smell of roses whenever she walked through a room, but each and every time it was just her mind playing cruel tricks on her.

Her stomach ached as though she had been punched in the gut repeatedly and her throat felt raw like sandpaper. Through puffy red eyes she'd occasionally stare at the ivory handled knife laying on the coffee table with a sense of longing for the first time since she could remember. She didn't care if it was painful or not. She doubted she'd feel a thing anyway. All she wanted was to be with _her_ again. Forever this time...

That's what her grandmother had promised the night she arrived on her doorstep in the freezing rain.

"She lied to me," the girl whimpered.

 _*knock, knock*_

She ignored the intrusive sound coming from the other side of the door. Her grandmother had obviously never knocked, which meant it wasn't her and they didn't matter. She didn't know the exact moment that she had fallen in love with the village of Patchwork and its quirky inhabitants, but now she just wished they would all just go away and leave her be...

 _*KNOCK, KNOCK*_

They like the others would go away if she ignored them long enough. After the first day when Mrs. Aurelia and her daughter had brought her a platter of lasagna, which was sitting untouched in the fridge, she had barricaded the door so no one else could take advantage of there not being a lock.

"Hello?" called a voice. A _man's_ voice...

 _'Maybe it's him come to take you away again...'_ a sinister voice in her mind whispered.

"Hello?" No. Curiously this wasn't a voice she recognized.

The doorknob turned as they tried to enter without permission, but the couch and chairs stacked atop it didn't budge. Even if the man could find another way in she didn't care. He couldn't hurt her any worse than _they_ had hurt her in the past, or any worse than she felt now...

She continued staring at the knife and its desert rose crest that both taunted her and made wicked temptations when it began to rattle atop the table. She rubbed her blurry eyes and saw one of the chairs gliding into the kitchen followed by an entire train of them. She turned toward the door but it wasn't the couch _walking_ to the other side of the coffee table that garnered her attention, it was the clock hanging on the wall spinning backward. Or more specifically, the golden circle it was within and the ancient runes that she was able to interpret at a single glance.

It had just faded when the doorknob turned, and she reflexively threw her white cloak's hood up hiding her dark hair and red highlights. The door creaked open and there stood a tall man with silvery hair and a green turtleneck holding a large tray.

"May I come in?" he asked politely, his breath pluming from the sudden rush cold air inside the cottage.

She stared at him speechless and he must've taken it as an invitation as he walked in relying heavily on his cane.

As he approached her hand darted toward the knife and held it out in front of her defensively. The brash visitor didn't seem bothered or perhaps simply didn't noticed as he took a seat across from her and placed the tray on the table. Her eyes widened slightly seeing an empty glass and pitcher of milk surrounded by piles of chocolate chip cookies.

He pushed it toward her disregarding the knife. "Your grandmother told me they were your favorite," he said quietly, staring at her though wiry spectacles with sparkling brown eyes.

"W-who are you?" her voice cracked.

"I was an old friend of your grandmother's."

"Why are you here?"

The stranger continued to stare at her, and she shifted her weight uncomfortably at his soft gaze. "I came to pay my respects to Rose and say goodbye, and also to finally meet her granddaughter and see how she was getting along. News doesn't travel fast out of Patchwork I'm afraid, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for either of you..."

"I'm fine, now get out!"

"Please, at least let me rest for a little while. I knew her health had been troubling her for some time, that's one reason she moved into the mountains, but I didn't know to what extent, and her passing's come as quite the shock. I've walked a terribly long way all uphill to get here, and as you can see my leg isn't quite what it used to be." He gestured toward his cane. "Baking cookies also isn't as easy as I would've thought. Go ahead, try one. It's your grandmother's recipe."

She glanced down ever so briefly but quickly glared back at the man who wasn't the slightest bit out of breath and had barged into her grandmother's cottage after standing over her grave.

"Who are you!?" she demanded.

"My name is Ozpin. I'm the headmaster of Signal Academy, the combat school on the other side of the island, and your grandmother Rose was a very dear old friend of mine."

"S-signal?" she breathed, her body shaking. "You're here to recruit me, and take me away..."

The man said nothing for a moment. "No," he said finally. "I'm here to visit with you and talk about your grandmother, but I can offer you a home, a place to make friends, and a future if you're willing to hear me out."

"I have a home and I have friends!"

"I see that you have a home. It's lovely in fact, but I'm afraid Rose never spoke of you having friends."

Her lip quivered and her grip around the knife tightened. Ozpin leaned forward slightly. "I can also offer you protection from the people you ran away from, and anyone else who might try to hurt you."

The girl's voice caught. "How did you-"

"Many years ago your grandmother asked that I find you and bring you to her, and I'm terribly sorry that I failed you both, but after _you_ found _her_ she made me promise that I'd keep you safe."

"Y-you just want me to come to your stupid school because of who my family is. Or _was_! I'm not a huntress and I don't want to be a huntress!

"That's not what your grandmother told me, and any fourteen-year-old girl now fifteen who _walks_ from the badlands of Vacuo all the way to Vale by herself has a place in my school. Rose also told me about your powers, and how you-"

"That I can't control!" she screamed. "I can barely even create a glyph! I know who you think I am, BUT I'M NOT THE SUMMER MAIDEN!" She banged her fist on the armchair and hid her face from the headmaster who adjusted his coat slightly.

"No you're not," he replied calmly. "I've met the Maiden of Summer, as well as the Maidens of Spring and Winter, and it's my sworn duty to protect the Maiden of Fall with my life." His eyes began to twinkle looking down at her. "Unless I'm mistaken, her mother was the one who cooked the lasagna in your fridge."

She glanced up at him speechless.

"You might not be the Maiden of Summer, but she and myself, as well as _yourself_ , know that those powers rightfully belong to you and your family, and I don't mean your cousins up north."

She leaned forward and snarled, the knife trembling in her hand. " _She_ is the reason my mother was murdered, why half the women on Father's side of the family are murdered, and why I've been running my entire life. There hasn't been a Summer Maiden in my family since the monarchies fell and your stupid schools were built. There's nothing special about us! Why can't any of you see that!?"

She burst into tears and a gentle hand reached for her shoulder. Without warning the knife swung wildly and the moment the blade made contact with his skin, her silver eyes gained an emerald hue, just like the faint shimmer of aura around Ozpin as he let out a surprised gasp and recoiled.

"I-I-" she stuttered, watching blood trickle from the knife. He casually retrieved a handkerchief from his coat pocket and pressed it against the long gash. "I'm so-"

" _I'm_ the one who should apologize," he interrupted, looking down and sounding as though he was struggling to contain his disappointment or perhaps even anger with himself. "I know some of what you've been through. I can't even imagine what it was like, and I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me..."

The knife dangled from her hand before clattering on the floor.

"All those years," she whimpered. "Mother and I spent _years_ trying to get out of Vacuo, and every night she would read me old letters from Rose and tell me stories of how wonderful she was. We didn't even know where Patch was, but for _years_ I dreamed of this cottage and being with her. And when I finally find her, alone, and she tells me we're going to be a family, she gets sick and leaves me. Why her! She was the one person who never hurt me!"

She cried until no more tears would come, dully aware of the strange man watching her just an arm's length away. She wiped her eyes before looking up at him. His handkerchief was stained red but the bleeding had stopped and the skin likely mended.

"Why are you still here?" she sniffed.

"Because you never gave me an answer."

"I-I can't..."

"Why not?"

"I-I've always dreamed of being a huntress, but I can't be one. Huntresses are supposed to be strong and brave. They're not supposed to be-" She swallowed and lowered her head. "-people like me..."

She felt a strange sensation as he flared his aura, and looked up to see his eyes glowing emerald just like her own had before.

"I can do much more than create time dilation glyphs," he said. "With my powers I can see what a person might become."

"You can see the future?" He shook his head smiling.

"No, nothing that specific. You could say that when I look into a person's soul, I can see their potential and what they _might_ become someday. You are stronger and braver than you'll ever realize, and I don't know how, but somehow someday you're to change the world and make it a better place."

She snorted and wanted to laugh at his peculiar recruitment technique, but the way he said it she found herself honestly believing him.

Slowly, he reached out with one hand and a few moments later she cautiously she took it.

"Since you were born Rose never called you by name. To her you were always her-"

" _'Sweet summer child'_." A smile tugged on her lip.

"Summer, if you don't mind me calling you that, I'm sorry for everything you've been through and for losing your grandmother far too quickly, but if you'll give me the honor of being the second person to show you that humanity isn't all bad, I can give you all the things I spoke of earlier and more. And if you'll help me, I can make sure those monsters are put behind bars, and that nobody else has to go through what you did ever again..."

Cautiously, she lowered her hood and held out her other hand. A white glyph appeared in her palm followed by a bloodstained knife just like the one laying on the floor. Suddenly breathless, white rose petals began flaking off the knife, her skin, and even the top of her head, floating above them where they turned crimson and almost seemed to drip onto the floor. Her eyes once again gained an emerald hue and she concentrated as his thoughts trickled into her own.

"You're telling the truth," she sobbed, the knife dissipating into petals. She leaped off the chair into his arms and buried her face into his shoulder crying.

"I promise you, _Summer Rose,_ the best is still yet to come..."

* * *

 **(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. It was a lot of fun writing how Summer first met Ozpin and came to be a student at Signal, especially with all the similarities to how her daughter was accepted into Beacon. I also really enjoyed Summer's relationship with her Grandmother Rose and getting a brief glimpse at her past. I'm sorry that a lot of what's said in this story is going to be somewhat vague and heavily open to interpretation, but I think that's for the best at the moment.** **As always all credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and all of you. God bless)**


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